Grammatical class

Verb

dire

(transitive) to say, to tell (to express through speech)

Details

Syllables

di-re

Phonetics

diʁ

Grammatical class

Verb

Freq. (books)

70

Freq. (movies)

56

Freq. (news)

240

Variants

Sentences

Ça ne me dit trop rien d’y aller.

I don't really want to go [there].

A1

Ça me dit quelque chose.

It rings a bell.

A1

Il se disait malade.

He said he was sick.

A1

Cela ne se dit plus.

It is not said anymore.

A1

Aïe ! J’le dirai !

Ouch! I'mma call him out!

A1

Cela veut dire que… Cela ne dit rien.

It means that… It does not say anything. (literally, “It wants to say that… It does not say anything.”)

A1

Bien justement. Ce n’est pas parce qu’on peut tout dire qu’il faut dire n’importe quoi.

Well exactly. It is not because you can say anything that it is necessary to say anything.

A2

C’est bon, je n’aime pas à jouer les gêneurs. Je vais faire un tour au foyer, pendant que tu diras ton couplet.

It's fine, I don't like to play the nuisance. I'm going to take a walk in the foyer, whilst you say your verse.

B1

Cela ne dit rien au cœur, à l’âme. (It touches not, moves not.)

It does not say anything to the heart, to the soul

B1

Et vous vous réveillez un jour avec ce besoin irrépressible de « dire ».

And you wake up one day with this irrepressible need to "say".

B2

Ils jettent bien encore des regards de convoitise sur nos bêtes, mais nous nous tenons sur nos gardes, et, nous voyant disposés à nous défendre, ils doivent se dire que le jeu ne vaudrait peut-être pas la chandelle.

They cast even more glances of covetousness at our beasts, but we stand on our guard, and, seeing us prepared to defend ourselves, they must think that the game would perhaps not be worth the candle.

C2

Il leur offrit de dire la messe pour leur obtenir de Dieu, au lieu de l’argent qu’ils demandaient, la grâce de souffrir chrétiennement leur ruine.

He offered to say mass to them to obtain for them from God, instead of the money that they were requesting, the grace to suffer their ruin Christianly.

C2